With the world on lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, everybody is cooped up indoors and spending time at home. If you’re looking for something new to watch or listen to, then we’ve got you covered. MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON has compiled a list of 11 Japanese artists who have or are planning to post live footage of their full concerts and performances on YouTube.

The future looks uncertain as it is right now, so in the meantime let’s find time to do the things we enjoy and stay positive as we get through this together.

ONE OK ROCK

ONE OK ROCK are set to premiere 6 of their past concerts on YouTube from 2014-2018. They will be the full performances with no cuts and will not be archived, so mark your calendars and be sure to tune in when they drop.

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/313887

ONE OK ROCK’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ONEOKROCKchannel

ARASHI

ARASHI has posted a full concert taken from his “untitled” tour which ran from November 2017 to January 2018. “Untitled” is the theme of the tour which looked towards ARASHI of the future. The stage set up and incredible performance are absolute must-sees.

ARASHI’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP7Gw_YZAuh4Yg2fcdcuumQ/

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is in the middle of posting 100 videos of her live performances which will be available to watch for a limited time between April 14 to May 17 this year. The videos are being released as a part of the at-home entertainment #ouchiasobi (“Play At Home”) project launched by ASOBISYSTEM, the agency that Kyary is signed to. Now you can have fun too with Kyary by bringing her concerts into your home.

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/313974

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/kyarypamyupamyutv

AAA

AAA’s performance at Saitama Super Arena was a highlight of their 2013 tourーa tour which took them to see 150,000 fans across Japan. The full show is now available to watch on YouTube until April 30, 2020 at 23:59 (JST), so be sure to check it out.

avex’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/avexnetwork/

RADWIMPS

RADWIMPS have posted some content from their recently-released live DVD and Blu-ray ANTI ANTI GENERATION TOUR 2019 onto their YouTube channel. Feel part of the crowd with the following thrilling performance.

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/290378

RADWIMPS’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/radwimpsstaff/

Taichi Mukai

Taichi Mukai recently posted a video of his performance of his popular song Reset. The song was written as the first ending theme for the anime series Run with the Wind.

Taichi Mukai’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/0313taichi/

Official HIGE DANdism

Official HIGE DANdism’s performance of I LOVE… at Pacifico Yokohama, which was held on February 10, 2020 as part of their “Travelers” tour, is available to listen to on Apple Music. This is another one that makes you feel part of the experience.

Apple Music “I LOVE…” Pacifico Yokohama (2020.02.10)

TK from Ling Tosite Sigure

TK posted a video on his YouTube channel of footage taken from his live performance at Landmark Studio in Yokohama. His live band line-up includes the familiar faces BOBO (Drums) and Sato Honoka (Violin) as well as Yoshida Ichiro Untouchable World (Bass) who was a support member for TK last year, Hiroko Sebu (Piano) who provided her piano playing on TK’s single katharsis from last year, and Masao Watanabe (Cello).

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/178674

Ling Tosite Sigure’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sigureSMEJ/

amazarashi

amazarashi dropped a trailer last year for his live DVD and Blu-ray release Mirai ni Narenakatta Subete no Yoru ni. His self-cover of Long Hope Philiaーthe theme song of the anime film My Hero Academia: Two Heroes and fifth ending theme of the My Hero Academia anime seriesーis a must-see!

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/270910

amazarashi’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/amazarashiSMEJ/

Suchmos

A live performance of Suchmos’s hugely popular Mint. It features footage backstage from the band’s tours across three years.

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/207422

Suchmos’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ3U5YJLWUr3VmQsO48jcQg/

Superfly

Here’s a live music video of Superfly’s song Kakusei, the theme for the anime movie Promare. The video uses live footage taken from Superfly’s arena tour which incorporates gorgeous CG imagery.

Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/288707

Superfly’s YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/superfly/

Japanese visual kei rock band SID will release their new single delete on March 4, 2020.

The song is used as the second opening theme for season three of the TV anime series The Seven Deadly Sins. The band dropped the full music video today.

We see a fierce performance from the members on a set that’s like an art exhibition with musical instruments strung in midair.

SID are set to perform two special live concerts entitled “SID LIVE 2020 -Star Forest-” at Kawaguchiko Stellar Theater in Yamanashi on May 9 and 10. The performance is to be different from any live show the band have done to date.

©️ Nakaba Suzuki・Kodansha / “The Seven Deadly Sins” Production Committee・TV TOKYO Corporation

Worldwide famous Japanese pop group Perfume are taking their fashion project “Perfume Closet” to Laforet Harajuku where it will run in a pop-up shop from February 20-26 this year.

Perfume Closet is a fashion project helmed by Perfume which aims to connect with fans through Perfume’s music by making outfits. This is the fourth time Perfume Closet has opened, and will feature a line-up entitled “Perfume Closet 2020SS” which is part of what Perfume are calling “Phase 2,” which started in January this year and centres on clothing. It follows on from “Phase 1” which featured a line-up of miscellaneous items.

SATIN COMBI TRENCH COAT – ¥49,500 (Tax Included) / FLOWER PLEATS DRESS – ¥44,000 (Tax Included)

SHEER COMBI KNIT ¥17,600 (Tax Included) / 2 WAY PLEATS SKIRT ¥35,200 (Tax Included)

RELAX WEAR (LADIES) – ¥16,500 (Tax Included) / PLEATS SLEEVE TEE (WHITE) – ¥9,900 (Tax Included) / SHEER COMBI RELAX PANTS – ¥22,000 (Tax Included)

The pop-up shop will stock a plethora of items made by the Perfume members, who worked on the designs, chose the materials, and crafted the silhouettes. It includes everything from coats to one pieces, blouses, bottoms, as well as unisex items men can wear too like pants, shirts, and more.

Fans of Perfume and fans of Japanese fashion aren’t going to want to miss out on the new Perfume Closet, open for one week only starting next Thursday!

Kenshi Yonezu’s song Paprika has become a hit amongst the children of Japan since its release, even taking home the top award at the 61st Kagayaku! Japan Record Awards. Its music video has garnered over 70 million views on YouTube, and tomorrow (February 3) the song will be released digitally.

This version of the song is a “self-cover” in which Yonezu sings. The original version was written and produced by Yonezu but he did not actually sing in it. In July 2018, he announced a new project to cheer on the people of the world in 2020 and beyond. It began with the formation of Foorin, a group of child singers who sang the original Paprikamusic video which Yonezu wrote the lyrics for as well as composed and produced the music. A was released in July 2018 which has amassed over 164 million views (as of January 1, 2020), which features Foorin performing choreography created by Tomohiko Tsujimoto and Koharu Sugawara.

At the end of 2019, Foorin had already performed on numerous music television programmes, and a new group was formed called Foorin team Eーa group of international children who performed Paprika in English. Thus began the worldwide phenomenon of Paprika.

Within just 4 days and 9 hours of its release, Kenshi Yonezu’s self-cover version released on YouTube had already surpassed 10 million views. Now, the self-cover is set to be released digitally on February 3, 2020. The artwork for the digital release was created by Ryu Kato.

Paprika will be used for NHK’s TV and radio program Minna no Uta (“Everybody’s Song”) throughout February and March.

Kenshi Yonezu’s 2020 “HYPE” tour in Japan and Asia has finally kicked off. Find the full schedule below.

Japanese visual kei rock band SID will release their new single delete on March 4.  

The song will serve as the new opening theme for the ongoing TV anime series The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods. The TV anime edit music video for the song was revealed on SID’s New Year special live broadcast that was held on YouTube. (SID Shinshun Special Namahaishin! The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods Shin Kūru On Air Start! )

During the live broadcast, SID also revealed the details on their two-day special live performance SID LIVE 2020 -Star Forest- which will take place on May 9 and 10, 2020. As the new performance will show a completely new style to their normal live performances, SID fans just can’t contain their excitement. 

Japanese visual kei rock band SID is set to release their new single delete on March 4. The song will serve as the new opening theme for the ongoing TV anime series The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods. As the song is set to feature as the opening theme from January 8, fans cannot contain their excitement. delete will also be released digitally on the same day.

Releasing the song on digital services on the same day as it debuts in the anime isn’t the only treat SID has in store for their fans. On January 8 at 8 pm, the TV-size edit version of the music video will also premiere on YouTube.

To add to the wonderful news of the advanced release of delete on streaming services and the video release of the episode digest, all band members will be gathering together for the SID New Year special live broadcast which will celebrate the release of the anime’s new season. (SID Shinshun Special Namahaishin! The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods Shin Kūru On Air Start! ). The stream will go live at 18:30 on YouTube straight after the initial anime broadcast. There’s no doubt that the livestream will be a grand-scale festival for fans, connecting viewers in celebration.

©️Nakaba Suzuki・Kodansha / “The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods” Production Committee・TV Tokyo Corporation

Japanese visual kei rock band SID released their new album Shonin Yokkyu in September 2019. With their signature elegant instrumentals and strong identity in the music scene, SID’s new album marks a new chapter in their career and has become very popular. SID recently announced their new song delete, which will be used as the new opening theme for the ongoing TV anime series The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods from January 2020 onward. Now, it has been announced that delete will be released as a single on March 4, 2020. 

The single will be available in three different formats: First-Press Limited Edition, which will include a CD and a special bonus DVD; Limited Pressing Edition, which comes with an original Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods illustration; and Regular Edition. There are also bonus goods available with the purchase of the single so if you are keen to get your hands on them, you stand a better chance if you reserve one. Fans just can’t contain their excitement for the new anime episodes to come in January. 

©️Nakaba Suzuki・Kodansha / “The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods” Production Committee・TV Tokyo Corporation

Japanese visual kei rock band SID released their new album Shonin Yokkyu on September 4, 2019. The four-member band embarked on a tour to promote the record, and at the finale show held at Tokyo International Forum Hall A, they performed their new song delete for the first time which it was announced will be used as the new opening theme for the ongoing TV anime series The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods from January 2020 onward.

The crowd’s reaction to the song was huge, and excitement only grows as we count the days to hearing it in the anime series.

SID said: “We were given the opportunity to perform the opening theme for The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods. We are honoured to be able to collaborate with an anime that has the world excited. ‘delete’ is a song with a message to those people who want to get rid of their past and present, but also living with strength. We would love it if people came to know about us through the anime series.—SID”

©️Nakaba Suzuki・Kodansha / “The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods” Production Committee・TV Tokyo Corporation

Kenshi Yonezu’s 2018 single Lemon has broken many milestones to date, and today marks yet another etching in history.

The music video for Lemon officially broke 500 million views on December 17, 2019 at 10:08am (JST), which marks one year and 295 days since it was released on YouTube. Yonezu now holds the record for most viewed Japanese artist on the video platform.

Photo by Tomokazu Yamada

Yonezu’s other music videos have also garnered huge views: Uchiage Hanabi is on 327 million, Aine Kuraine is on 236 million, and LOSER is on 228 million (as of December 17, 2019). All nine of his music videos total over 1 billion views (the aforementioned four, orion, Peace Sign and Haiiro to Ao (+Masaki Suda), Flamingo, and Paprika), and he has 4.59 million subscribers, making him the most subscribed-to Japanese music artist. His channel also has over 2.4 billion views, and the numbers continue to soar.

Lemon enjoys yet another year of success following its overwhelming popularity upon its release in 2018. To thank fans for its success, a billboard has been put up at the Hachiko Exit of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, which reads “Kenshi Yonezu” on the left and “Music Carries On” on the right. It will be up until December 29, 2019.

Particularly over the past two years, Kenshi Yonezu has been making history in the charts. His song Lemon was highlighted as song of the year on Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 of the Year 2019 and the U.S Billboard HOT 100 for two consecutive years in a row, making Yonezu the first ever artist to top the Billboard charts for two consecutive years in a row with the same song. 

Photo by Tomokazu Yamada

Following the release of Lemon in March 2018, its digital and physical downloads scored ranks in the charts 25 times, pushing Yonezu onwards to continue his streak into 2019 where he saw more no.1s, 3 million downloads on his song Lemon, which set the record for fastest downloaded song in Japan, and now almost half a billion views on the official music video for Lemon. The song’s overwhelming popularity even scored it no.1 in Japan’s karaoke rankings where it reigned for a whole 85 weeks: the longest of any song. 

 Yonezu dominated the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 of the Year 2019 download rankings for two consecutive years in a row and four of his ten songs made it onto the charts, including Lemon at no.1, Uma to Shika at no.5, Machigai Sagashi at no.6 (performed by Masaki Suda, written by Yonezu) and Paprika at no.7 (performed by Foorin, written by Yonezu). His achievements even stretch to producing and he is loved by children and adults in Japan alike. 

Aiming to cheer everybody on in the runup to 2020 and beyond, Kenshi Yonezu formed two music groups consisting of young children called Foorin and Foorin team E to perform the Japanese and English versions of his song Paprika respectively as part of an ongoing music project. 

Foorin team E “Paprika” Dance Video

Check out the English version of Paprika performed by Foorin team E on YouTube. 

Paprika was dropped on digital services worldwide on December 2. Paprika will also be released on CD in First-Press Edition and Regular Edition copies on January 22 in Japan. The First-Press Edition comes in a seven-inch jacket containing the lyrics on a displayable card, a DVD of the music video and origami paper. There is also the chance to get your hands on a bonus Paprika dream magnet which will be in limited availability at selected music shops in Japan. Information on places to purchase will be revealed in the near future. The illustration for the CD jacket was created by Ryu Kato, who also created the illustrations used in the music video for Kenshi Yonezu’s cover of Paprika and the illustrations for the jacket of Foorin’s version of Paprika.  

As is the case with the Japanese version of Paprika, the royalties generated by Yonezu from the release of the English version of Paprika and its secondary usage will be donated to Independent Administrative Corporations and Japanese sports foundations in order to assist athletes of the future generations.  

Photo by Takako Noel

Paprika is working up a sensation throughout Japan as a break-through kid’s song. When Foorin released Paprika in 2018, the dance music video was viewed over 140 million times on YouTube and Paprika-related videos on NHK’s website generated over 260 million views. The song’s lyrics and music writer and producer Kenshi Yonezu even released his own cover of Paprika earlier this year in August. In just four days and nine hours since its upload, the cover was viewed over 10 million times, which is the fastest record for any of Yonezu’s music videos. Now the video has over 50 million views and is loved by people of all generations. 

Yonezu’s projects are propelling forward full steam ahead. Who knows what he’s got next up his sleeve?

Foorin is a music unit made up of elementary school children with music and lyrics produced entirely by Kenshi Yonezu. Their single Paprika was released on August 15, 2018. Following auditions for native English-speaking children, Yonezu formed Foorin team E to create an English version of Paprika. 

Since the debut of Foorin’s song and dance video in 2018, the song appeared in collaboration with NHK Educational TV and has made multiple appearances in events across Japan, adding a sprinkle of fun to the lives of Japanese children. It has become one of the most phenomenal kid’s songs of the century. 

Yonezu’s cover of the song became an instant hit among people of all generations and was well-received overseas. With a desire to make singing and dancing to Paprika more of a global sensation, he set about creating an English version of the song with native English-speaking children.

Foorin team E consists of main vocalists Jasmine (10) and Corban (8) and chorus and dancers Len (12), Evangeline (12) and Clara (6).

Foorin team E’s first-ever performance of Paprika will take place at ABU TV Song Festival in Tokyo on November 19 at NHK Hall and they will also perform alongside Foorin for the first time at Japan’s 70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. 

Get together with your family and younger siblings to enjoy two exciting versions of this cheerful song.

Foorin Artist Photo by Taro Mizutani

Kenshi Yonezu Artist Photo by Tomokazu Yamada